Over 225,000 children were absent from schools in protest of segregated schools in Chicago. The protest was called FREEDOM DAY.

A coalition of civil rights groups staged Freedom Day, a mass boycott and demonstration against segregated schools and inadequate resources for black students. Almost half of Chicago’s public school students skipped class, leaving many schools on the South and West Sides virtually empty.

The climax of Freedom Day was the march to the downtown office of the Chicago Board of Education. Thousands took to the streets, carrying signs that voiced their frustrations. Many targeted Superintendent Ben Willis, comparing him to segregationist George Wallace, the governor of Alabama. Police met the nearly 10,000 protestors and prevented them from entering the Chicago Board of Education building.